Leadership and Spirituality in the Workplace

Judith A. Neal, Ph.D.

The purpose of this appendix is threefold. (1) It provides an overview of the concept of spirituality in the workplace. (2) It provides spiritual principles that have been useful to many leaders in their personal and professional development. (3) It provides a list of some of the resources that are available to people who are interested in learning more about the relationship between leadership and spirituality.

Tom Aageson, former Director of Aid to Artisans – a non-profit that helps artists in third world countries - takes an annual retreat where he contemplates questions about the purpose of his life and evaluates how well he is living in alignment with his values. Angel Martinez, former CEO of Rockport Shoes, invited all his top executives to a retreat that included exploring the integration of each person’s spiritual journey with his or her work journey. At Integrated Project Systems (IPS) in San Francisco, CEO Bill Kern created a document called “The Corporate Stand” that is very explicit about “The Integrity of the Human Spirit.” These are key principles that employees live by at IPS. Rodale Press, publisher of such well-known magazines as Prevention, Men’s Health, Runner’s World, and Organic Gardening, has a “Kiva Room” at corporate headquarters where employees may go to meditate, pray, or just spend quiet time when things get too stressful.

Stories like these are becoming more and more common in all kinds of workplaces. Academic and professional conferences are offering an increasing number of sessions that have words such as “Spirituality” or “Soul” in the title. There is a new openness in management education to recognition of our spiritual nature. This recognition can be on a personal level, such as when a person explores his or her own spiritual journey and struggles with what this means for their work. It is also on a conceptual level, as both academics and practitioners explore the role that spirituality might have in bringing meaning, purpose and increased performance to organizational life. There is a major change going on in the personal and professional lives of leaders as many of them more deeply integrate their spirituality and their work. And most would agree that this integration is leading to very positive changes in their relationships and their effectiveness.

Defining Spirituality in the Workplace

Spirituality is difficult to define. The Latin origin of the word spirit is spirare, meaning, “to breathe.” At its most basic, then, spirit is what inhabits us when we are alive and breathing, it is the life force. Spirituality has been defined as, “That which is traditionally believed to be the vital principle or animating force within living beings; that which constitutes one’s unseen intangible being; the real sense or significance of something”[i] A fairly comprehensive definition, part of which is provided here, is as follows:

One’s spirituality is the essence of who he or she is. It defines the inner self, separate from the body, but including the physical and intellectual self....Spirituality also is the quality of being spiritual, of recognizing the intangible, life-affirming force in self and all human beings. It is a state of intimate relationship with the inner self of higher values and morality. It is a recognition of the truth of the inner nature of people....Spirituality does not apply to particular religions, although the values of some religions may be a part of a person’s spiritual focus. Said another way, spirituality is the song we all sing. Each religion has its own singer.[ii]

Perhaps the difficulty people have had in defining spirituality is that they are trying to objectify and categorize an experience and way of being that is at its core very subjective and beyond categorizing. For this reason, some have resorted to poetry as a way of trying to capture the essence of the experience of spirituality. Lee Bolman did this very effectively in his keynote presentation on spirituality in the workplace to the Eastern Academy of Management in May 1995. Quoting the Persian poet Rumi:[iii]

All day I think about it, then at night I say it

Where did I come from and what am I supposed to be doing?

I have no idea

My soul is elsewhere, I’m sure of that

And I intend to end up there.

James Autry, a successful Fortune 500 executive, wrote a poem called “Threads.” This is an excerpt from that poem:[iv]

Listen.

In every office

You hear the threads

of love and joy and fear and guilt,

the cries for celebration and reassurance,

and somehow you know that connecting those threads

is what you are supposed to do

and business takes care of itself.

Spirituality in the workplace is about people seeing their work as a spiritual path, as an opportunity to grow personally and to contribute to society in a meaningful way. It is about learning to be more caring and compassionate with fellow employees, with bosses, with subordinates and customers. It is about integrity, being true to oneself, and telling the truth to others. Spirituality in the workplace can refer to an individual’s attempts to live his or her values more fully in the workplace. Or it can refer to the ways in which organizations structure themselves to support the spiritual growth of employees.

In the final analysis, the understanding of spirit and of spirituality in the workplace is a very individual and personal matter. There are as many expressions of these concepts as there are people who talk or write about them.

In practice, organizations are implementing spirituality in the workplace approaches at one or more of the following four levels:5

Level 1: Individual Development

At this level, programs focus on helping the individual employee understand more about his or her values, spiritual principles, and sense of purpose. The organization is committed to helping individuals live in alignment with their spiritual path, and may offer meditation rooms, courses on spiritual practices and/or teachings, and may bring in speakers who talk about spiritual development. There is an understanding that if people can discover and respond to their own ‘calling’ or sense of purpose, that they will be more creative, committed, and service-oriented.

Level 2: Leadership and Team Development

Organizations are offering courses to leaders with titles like “Authentic Leadership,” “Leading With Soul,” and “Spiritual Leadership.” Leaders are encouraged to apply spiritual values such as humility, trust, courage, integrity, and faith in their work with teams. They may offer courses such as “Team Spirit” and “Noble Purpose” developed by Barry Heerman.6 Some organizations are offering lunchtime Spirit at Work Discussion Groups. Others are offering team building courses that incorporate spiritual values or practices.

Level 3: Total System Development

A growing number of CEO's and organizational leaders have become personally committed to creating organizations that nurture the human spirit of the company’s employees, customers, and other stakeholders. Several systemic approaches have been developed to help organizations evolve to a higher level of congruence with spiritual values. These include “Corporate Tools” by Richard Barrett,7 “Spiral Dynamics” by Don Beck and Chris Cowan,8 “Appreciative Inquiry,” by David Coopperrider and colleagues,9 “Positive Organizational Scholarship” and “The Abundance Framework” by Kim Cameron,10 and “Open Space Technology,” by Harrison Owen.11 The key aim in each of these organizational development processes is to help an organization move beyond just a focus on profits and the bottom line to a commitment to human development and a positive contribution to society.

Level 4: Redefining the Role of Business

A new paradigm is emerging among business leaders that redefines the purpose of business as being the solution to solving problems in society and around the globe, rather than being a contributor to them. The focus is on using the creative energy and talent of their employees, along with the vast capital resources and international reach, to truly make a positive difference in the world. Willis Harman, co-founder of the Institute of Noetic Sciences and of the World Business Academy, was probably the first person to speak about the important role of business in increasing consciousness in the world.12 More recently, Case Western Reserve’s Wetherhead School of Management has created a Center of Excellence called the Center of Business As Agent of World Benefit (BAWB), which has sponsored an ongoing inquiry research project into the ways business is making a positive difference in the world. People can get involved by going to their web site at www.worldinquiry.org.

Each organization is unique in terms of its values, vision, and readiness for spirituality in the workplace, and so there is no one formula that leaders can use to implement spiritual values and practices in their organizations. The best thing to do is to learn as much as possible from organizations who have been successful in this integration. A great place to start is to study the organizations that have received the International Spirit at Work Award for their explicit spiritual practices and commitment to nurturing the human spirit of their employees.

Guidelines for leading from a spiritual perspective

Here are five spiritual principles that have been useful to many leaders in their personal and professional development.

1. Know Thyself

All spiritual growth processes incorporate the principle of self-awareness. Leading provides a great opportunity to become more self-aware. Examine why you respond to situations the way you do. Take a moment in the morning to reflect on the kind of leader you would like to be today. At the end of the day, take quiet time to assess how well you did, and to what extent you were able to live in alignment with your deepest held core values.

2. Act with Authenticity and Congruency

Followers learn a lot more from who we are and how we behave than from what we say. Authenticity means being oneself, being fully congruent, and not playing a role. Many managers really get into the role “leader” and they see managing as a place to assert their superiority and control. They would never want employees to see the more human, softer parts of them. Yet we are finding that managers who are more authentic, humble and congruent tend to be more effective.13

It is a real challenge to be authentic and congruent in the workplace. Most people feel that if they are truly themselves and if they say what they are really thinking, it will be the end of their careers. But I believe that if we don’t do this, we sell a little bit of our souls every time we are inauthentic, and that saps our creative energy and our emotional intelligence. It also reduces our sense of commitment to the work we do, and we cannot perform at our highest level. Experiment with greater authenticity and with showing more of your humanness. You will be surprised at how positively people will respond.

It is also important to create a climate where employees are encouraged to behave authentically and congruently. This means that they should be comfortable expressing feelings as well as thoughts and ideas. And contrary to popular opinion, humility accompanied by a strong will do create an enduring organization, is a much more powerful tool for success than a strong ego.

3. Respect and Honor the Beliefs of Others

It can be very risky and maybe even inappropriate to talk about your own spirituality in the workplace. Yet if spirituality in a guiding force in your life and your leading, and if you follow the guideline of authenticity and congruency, you cannot hide that part of yourself. It is a fine line to walk.

What seems to work best is to build a climate of trust and openness first and to model an acceptance of opinions and ideas that are different from yours. Then, if an appropriate opportunity comes up where you can mention something about your spiritual beliefs, you should emphasize that they are yours alone. Explain that many people have different beliefs and that you respect those differences. It is extremely important that employees do not feel that you are imposing your belief system (spiritual, religious, or otherwise) on them. At the same time, it is worthwhile to do anything that you can do to nurture spiritual and ethical development in your employees in a way that allows them to explore their own deepest values and beliefs.

4. Be as Trusting as You Can Be

This guideline operates on many levels. On the personal level, this guideline of “being as trusting as you can be” applies to trusting oneself, one’s inner voice, or one’s source of spiritual guidance. This means trusting that there is a Higher Power in your life and that you ask you will receive guidance on important issues. It also operates on the interpersonal, team and organizational level. If you truly learn to see yourself as trustworthy, and believe that it is our essential nature as humans to be trustworthy, then you will naturally feel trusting of colleagues and subordinates. And you will also feel more trusting that the processes and events that are happening have a higher purpose to them if you look for it and amplify it.

5. Maintain a Spiritual Practice

In a research study on people who integrate their spirituality and their work, the most frequently mentioned spiritual practice is spending time in nature. Examples of other practices are meditation, prayer, reading inspirational literature, hatha yoga, shamanistic practices, writing in a journal, and walking a labyrinth. These people report that it is very important for them consistently commit to whatever individual spiritual practice they have chosen. The regular involvement in a chosen practice appears to be the best way to deepen one’s spirituality.14

When leaders faithfully commit to a particular spiritual practice they are calmer, more creative, more in tune with employees and customers, and more compassionate.15

Categorized Bibliography on Spirituality in the Workplace

The materials provided here were selected for their ability to inform the leader about issues related to spirituality in the workplace. This list is not exhaustive, and suggestions are provided on where to find more in-depth information on resources related to spirituality in the workplace. There are 37 books categorized in eight sections in this review. Due to space limitations, the fact that the book reviews are available online, and because the list continues to grow, there are no book reviews provided in this appendix. However, you can go to the Spirit at Work web site to read the book reviews of the books listed here, plus many others. Spirit at Work Internet Exercise A-2 provides directions for getting to and reading these book reviews. Let’s begin by describing the Spirit at Work web site, followed by an explanation of the eight categories of books with the list of 42 references.

Spirit at Work Web Site

The Spirit at Work web site is the most comprehensive web site on spirituality in the workplace. It is designed to be a resource to people interested in integrating their deepest values and their work. It consists of information about the “Association for Spirit at Work,” a “Community” section for people who want to connect with others who share their interests – including local chapters throughout the U.S. and abroad; a “Members Center” that has case studies, research, inspirational quotes, presentations, exercises and other change management tools for members of our organization; an “Events Calendar” that lists conferences and workshops on spirituality in the workplace from around the world, and the “Info Center” where people can access the Spirit at Work bibliography, research articles, and the Spirit at Work newsletter. In addition, there is an entire section devoted to the International Spirit at Work Awards.

The next sections provide the following categories of books on spirituality in the workplace:

1. Overview of Spirituality in the Workplace
2. Leadership From a Spiritual Perspective
3. Case Studies of Leaders Who have Applied Spiritual Principles to the Organizations that They Work in.
4. Creativity and Spirituality in the Workplace
5. Spiritual Principles for Career Development
6. Spirituality at the Team Level
7. Systemic Approaches
8. The Role of Business in a Changing World

(1) Overview of Spirituality in the Workplace

The books described in this section are edited books that offer a wide array of perspectives on spirituality in the workplace and provide a good overview for someone who is just beginning to explore this field.

1. The new paradigm in business: Emerging strategies for leadership and organizational change edited by Michael Ray and Alan Rinzler. New York: Jeremy Tarcher, 1993.
2. New traditions in business: Spirit and leadership in the 21st century edited by John Renesch. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 1992.
3. Work and spirit: A reader of new spiritual paradigms for organizations, edited by Jerry Biberman and Michael D. Whitty, Scranton, PA: University of Scranton Press, 2000.
4. The Spirit at work phenomenon, by Sue Howard and David Welbourne. 2004. London: Azure.

(2) Leadership From a Spiritual Perspective

Perhaps more has been written about leadership and spirituality than any other topic related to spirituality in the workplace. The books highlighted here are only a small sampling of what is available, but I believe that they are among the best on the topic. The offerings here include two books that are leadership parables, a book that explore what the new sciences have to teach us about leadership, a book of essays, a workbook, and several books that offer leading-edge concepts on leadership that incorporate body, mind, heart and spirit.

5. Leading with soul: An uncommon journey of spirit by Lee Bolman and Terrence Deal. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1995.

6. The corporate shaman: A business fable by Richard Whiteley, New York: HarperCollins, 2002.
7. Leadership and the new science: Learning about organizations from an orderly universe by Margaret Wheatley. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 1992.
8. Invisible leadership: Igniting the soul at work by Robert Rabbin. Lakewood, CO: Acropolis Books, 1998.
9. Leadership & spirit: Breathing new vitality and energy into individuals and organizations, by Russ Moxley, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000.
10. Leadership from the inside out: Seven pathways to mastery by Kevin Cashman, San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 1998.
11. The Highest Goal: The secret that sustains you in every moment by Michael Ray. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2004.
12. Learning as a way of being: Strategies for survival in a world of permanent white water by Peter Vaill. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1996.
13. Leading consciously: A pilgrimage towards self-mastery by Debashis Chatterjee, Boston, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1998.
14. Inspire! What great leaders do by Lance Secretan, Hoboken, NJ: Wiley & Sons, 2004, and Reclaiming higher ground: Creating organizations that inspire the soul by Lance Secretan, Toronto: McMillan Canada, 1996.
15. Edgewalkers: The new global human by Judi Neal, Westport, CT: Praeger, 2006.

(3) Case Studies of Leaders Who have Applied Spiritual Principles to the Organizations That They Work In.

This section lists five books that provide concrete examples of leaders who are integrating spirituality and work. The first book is a collection of interviews with business leaders, and the last three books are written by CEOs who applied spiritual principles and practices to their organizations.

. Merchants of vision: People bringing new purpose and values to business by James E. Liebig. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 1994.
16. . The soul of a business: Managing for profit and the common good by Tom Chappell. New York: Bantam Books, 1993.
17. Love and profit: The art of caring leadership by James Autry. New York: Avon Books, 1991.
18. Spirituality in business: The hidden success factor by Michael Stephen, Scottsdale, AZ: Inspired Productions Press.
19. The spirited business: Success stories of soul-friendly companies by Georgeanne Lamont, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2002.

(4) Creativity and Spirituality in the Workplace

Poetry, music, and other forms of art are short cuts to the human soul. Enlightened leaders are beginning to recognize this and to build artistic approaches into their leadership style and into their organizational transformation processes.

21. The heart aroused: Poetry and preservation of the soul in corporate America by David Whyte. New York: Currency Doubleday, 1994.
22. Small decencies: Reflections and meditations on being human at work by John Cowan. New York: HarperBusiness, 1992.
23. The common table: Reflections and mediations on community and spirituality in the workplace by John Cowan. New York: HarperBusiness, 1993.
24. Artful work: Awakening joy, meaning, and commitment in the workplace by Dick Richards. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 1995.
25. Creating an Imaginative Life by Michael Jones. Berkeley, CA: Conari Press, 1995

(5) Spiritual Principles for Career Development

The most important management principle of all is “Know Thyself.” And it certainly is the most important principle to keep in mind when making career decisions. These three books each take a slightly different approach to self-knowledge, but the goal is the same in each - to choose work that is in alignment with your soul’s path.

26. Do what you love, the money will follow: Discovering your Right Livelihood by Marsha Sinetar. New York: Dell Publishing, 1987.
27. Find Your Calling, Love Your Life: Paths to Your Truest Self in Life and Work by Martha Finney and Deborah Dasch. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998.
28. The Path: Creating Your Mission Statement for Work and for Life by Laurie Beth Jones. New York: Hyperion, 1996.

(6) Spirituality at the Team Level

The following two books have been used extensively in corporate programs that implement spirituality at the team level.

29. Building team spirit: Activities for inspiring and energizing teams by Barry Heerman, New York: McGraw Hill, 1997.
30. Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work: 101 stories of courage, compassion & creativity in the workplace by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Maida Rogerson, Martin Rutte, & Tim Clauss, Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, Inc. 1997.

(7) Systemic Approaches

The concept of spirituality in the workplace can be looked at the individual level, the team level, the organizational level, and the societal level. At the organizational level the main concern is with how to incorporate attention to spirit in organizational transformation approaches. Six books are offered here that have very different, but compatible approaches.

31. Managing with the wisdom of love: Uncovering virtue in people and organizations by Dorothy Marcic. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997.

32. The living organization: Spirituality in the workplace by William Guillory. Salt Lake City, UT: Innovations International, Inc., 1997.
33. Liberating the corporate soul: Building a visionary organization by Richard Barrett. Boston, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1998.
34. Awakening corporate soul: Four paths to unleash the power of people at work, by Eric Klein and John B. Izzo, Canada: Fairwinds Press, 1999.
35. The inner edge: Effective spirituality in your life and work, by Richard A. Wedemeyer and Ronald W. Jue, Chicago, I
36. L: 2002.
37. The path for greatness: Work as spiritual service, by Linda J. Ferguson, Victoria, BC, Canada: Trafford Press, 2000.

(8) The Role of Business in a Changing World

These six books take a very macro view of the issue of spirituality and business. Each of them postulates that we are entering a new era where it can no longer be “business as usual,” and the authors each offer their vision of what the world can be like and their prescriptions for how we can get there.

37. Creative work: The constructive role of business in transforming society by Willis Harman and John Hormann. Indianapolis: Knowledge Systems, 1990.
38. The global brain awakens: Our next evolutionary leap by Peter Russell. Palo Alto, CA: Global Brain Inc., 1995.
39. Conscious evolution: Awakening the power of our social potential by Barbara Marx Hubbard. Novato, CA: New World Library, 1998.
40. Building a win-win world: Life beyond global economic warfare by Hazel Henderson. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 1996.
41. The reinvention of work: A new vision of livelihood for our time by Matthew Fox. San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1994.
42. Megatrends for managers, by Patricia Aburdene (in press).

Summary

There is a growing trend the past few years to talk more openly about one’s spirituality and to want to integrate spiritual principles into all aspects of life - relationships, community, and work. This appendix has presented some resources for leaders who are interested in more fully integrating their spirituality and their leadership. Living more congruently with deeply held spiritual principles is never easy but it is extremely rewarding and meaningful. I hope that some of the resources provided here will help to make the journey a little easier.

Work Application

A-1. Give an example of spirituality in the workplace where you work/ed.

A-2. Have you or anyone you know struggled with spiritual journey and what this means for work? Explain.

Review and Discussin Questions

1. There is no one accepted definition of spirituality in the workplace. What is your definition?
2. Spirituality is about learning to be more caring and compassionate in the workplace. Should we be more caring and compassionate with others at work? Why or why not?
3. Spirituality is about integrity, being true to oneself, and telling the truth to others in the workplace. Should we be honest with others at work? Why or why not?
4. Is knowing thyself important to leading from a spiritual perspective? Why or why not?
5. Should leaders let followers see the more human, softer parts of them (truly be themselves)? What affect would this have on productivity?
6. Are managers who have a spiritual practice more effective leaders than those who do not?
7. Do you have a spiritual practice? If yes, what is it?

Spirit At Work Internet Exercise A-1

Spirituality Article

Preparation for SAW Internet Exercise A-1

Follow the step-by-step instructions below (your instructor my require you to make a copy of the article and/or to type the answers to the questions and bring them to class).

1. Go to the Spirit at Work Website address—http://www.spiritatwork.org
2. Look at the left hand menu, and under “Information Central” click on NEWSLETTER/ARTICLES.
3. Explore the articles in the Spirit at Work newsletter. Make sure to click on VIEW NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE in order to find individual articles instead of entire newsletter .pdf files. Select one article of interest to you. After reading the article, answer these questions. (Your instructor may ask you to print the article and/or type the answers to the article questions below.)

Article Questions

1. Who is the author? What is the title and the primary message of the article in 50 words or less?
2. In 50 words or less, what is your response to this article?
3. Why did you select this specific article, why and how is it of interest to you?
4. How can you use the information in the article in your personal or professional life?
5. Explore the other Spirit at Work sub-sites of interest to you.

Spirit at Work Internet Exercise A-2

Book Review

Preparation for SAW Internet Exercise A-2

Follow the step-by-step instructions below. (your instructor my require you to make a copy of the book review and/or to type the answers to the questions and bring them to class).

1. Select one of the recommended books books listed in this appendix for review.
2. Go to http://www.amazon.com to find out what others say about this book.
3. List the author, title, and publisher following the format of the 42 books listed in this appendix.

Book Review Questions

1. What was is the major message of the book?
2. What is your response to the book, in 50 words or less.
3. Why did you select this specific resource, why and how is it of interest to you?
4. After reading the reviews, are you interested in reading the book? Why or why not?

For the Instructor’s Manual

Review and Discussion Questions Answers

1. There is no one accepted definition of spirituality in the workplace. What is your definition? Answers will vary.
   
   
2. Spirituality is about learning to be more caring and compassionate in the workplace. Should we be more caring and compassionate with others at work? Why or why not?
   
   The appendix material supports being more caring and compassionate in the workplace to improve human relations and productivity.
   
   
3. Spirituality is about integrity, being true to oneself, and telling the truth to others in the workplace. Should we be honest with others at work? Why or why not?
   
   Generally, the answer is yes. This topic is covered in Chapter 2 with ethics.
   
   
4. Is knowing thyself important to leading from a spiritual perspective? Why or why not?
   
   The appendix material supports the importance of knowing thyself. The authors also support this by providing self-assessment exercises in all chapters, and by having the learn how their personality affects all the major chapter concepts.


5. Should leaders let followers see the more human, softer parts of them (truly be themselves)? What affect would this have on productivity?
   
   Generally, the answer is yes and productivity of all could increase.
   
   
6. Are managers who have a spiritual practice more effective leaders than those who do not?
   
   The appendix material does not directly say this. However, it does state that leaders faithfully committed to a particular spiritual practice are calmer, more creative, more in tune with employees and customers, and more compassionate.



7. Do you have a spiritual practice? If yes, what is it? Answers will vary.
   

Spirit At Work Internet Exercise A1-1 No Answers

Spirituality Article

This exercise requires students to select their own article from the Spirit at Work web site. Thus, students will, hopefully, select different articles and have different reasons for their selection. There are no recommended answers to the four questions related to the article.

Spirit At Work Internet Exercise A-2 No Answers

Book Review

This exercise requires students to select their own book reviews from the Amazon.com web site. Thus, students will, hopefully, select different books and have different reasons for their selection. There are no recommended answers to the questions related to the article.

MG Internet Exercise A-1 Answers

E-Book—Fiscal Fairy Tale # 2 Snowed White

http://www.fiscalfairytales.com/FFT_Snowed.pdf

Overview of Tale. This tale is about a hostile takeover offer by a large company wanting to buy out a new competitor. Reading the questions below can help you decide if you want to use this tale in your course. Go to the MG web site to review the four major ideas of the tale and to read it.

Questions relating to the tale only

1. As stated at the end of the tale, in 50 words of so, What is your response to this tale? You may send it to MG.

There is no correct answer. Answers will vary.

2. Do you agree with the decision making process at Apple-A-Day?

There is no correct answer. Answers will vary. However, getting advice from an advisory board of shareholders is a good idea, especially for a small company with few managers to discuss the decision.

3. What are some of the positive and negative affects of takeovers?

There are many possible answers. Here are a few. There is often increased efficiency and economies of scale. For example, when banks merge, some of the branches that are close to each other can be eliminated without hurting the service to customers. Centralizing the information processing often saves duplication, and thus cuts costs. On the negative side, it is commonly for some employees to lose their jobs and the small entrepreneurial firm usually becomes more bureaucratic and less creative. With some takeovers prices to customers may go down, however, this is not always the case because there may be less competition.

Questions relating the tale to the appendix concepts

4. Spirituality in the workplace is about people seeing their work as an opportunity to grow personally and to contribute to society in a meaningful way. Is this characteristic of entrepreneurs in general and Snowed White?

There definitely is personal growth for entrepreneurs who run their own business. And most businesses contribute to society by providing valuable goods and services. Snowed White improved the distribution of fruit, which benefited the members of the kingdom.

5. If entrepreneurs in general and Snowed White sell their businesses to big companies, are they being spiritually true to oneself?

If the larger company is going to improve the contribution to society, generally this is being true. However, in Snowed White’s case, the queen will most likely not implement the improvements that Snowed White implemented. Thus, the society contribution will be negative. One could argue that society is being hurt, thus Snowed White is not being true. However, others can argue that making a nice profit and getting out of the business is also being true to oneself, even though some of society may be hurt.

6. Does Snowed White and the group of advisers have “Threads” (Autry’s poem)?

Yes, Snowed White and the seven Dwarfs did appear to have ‘love and joy and fear and guilt.”

7. Did the queen “act with authenticity and congruency” (was she truly herself)?

It’s hard to say if the queen had a more human softer side. She may be truly herself, which is no positive.

8. Should Snowed White be “trusting” of herself and the queen?

Most students will tend to say that Snowed White should trust herself but not the queen.

Footnotes: